That sounds more like an unhappy keyboard than the OS. Is it a fancy keyboard with cool extra buttons that needs a driver? Could be the driver doesn’t like 8. Or there’s dirt. Or you did something in Windows to switch languages, that can always be fun, but usually doesn’t hit the non-entry keys like caps-lock.

14
posted on 11/01/2012 10:49:35 AM PDT
by discostu
(Not a part of anyone's well oiled machine.)

I thought it was pretty common knowledge you never buy a Microsoft operating system version that ends in point O.

While it may be frustrations with Microsoft that brought that saying into prominence, that's pretty much true for any major piece of software. Always wait for version X.1 (or X.Y.1) or SP1, depending on how revisions are numbered.

16
posted on 11/01/2012 10:52:52 AM PDT
by kevkrom
(If a wise man has an argument with a foolish man, the fool only rages or laughs...)

You either need a new keyboard, or an new person sitting between the keyboard and the machine.

I’ve been using Windows 8, from the developer trials to the present production version, and, nothing even remotely close to what you claim to be a problem, has come up.

Perhaps you need to clean your keyboard and remove all the food crumbs between the keyboard keys. At the worst, what you might need is a new keyboard. But, you don’t need to blame Windows 8 for what is apparently, hardware related.

"While it may be frustrations with Microsoft that brought that saying into prominence, that's pretty much true for any major piece of software. Always wait for version X.1 (or X.Y.1) or SP1, depending on how revisions are numbered."

You are, of course, correct. It's just that the downside is much steeper when you make that mistake with an operating system.

Linux would not solve his apparent hardware problem. Linux is never a solution to any computing problem, unless you're a techie who still loves to be hands on with the command line and feels comfortable with compiling and re-compiling and reconfiguring things. Linux may be very capable, but, it's not a very user-friendly OS; not at all. (And, btw, I have tried many of those Linux distros, and continue to be disappointed).

"Avoid Windows 8! I had the trial version and purchased the upgrade on line, After an entire day trying to find problems, I finally got it working. Then today, I was doing a search on Bing and Windows started to place a B when ?I typed a letter. And added an h before selected words. I rebooted thinking it was a short cut error. Now I can't log in! When I type my password, it puts the CAPS LOCK on when I type the number 1. And I cannot undo it, What a POS operating system."

I just did the same thing, and didn't have any problems. In the future try to use these things called help forums instead of screaming that it's the OSs fault. 99.9% of the time it isn't. Geesh some people when it comes to Windows are like a Dem constituency group. Always looking to be POd.

This is just a Ludite response! You have NO idea what you are talking about, while I’m a Linux user of over 20 years & a Windows user up to and including Windows 7. Ubuntu Linux is EASY to load and configure, literally just as easy as Windows or a Mac for all the things a normal user would worry about such as email, network access/setup, etc.

The simple fact is that until Windows 8 the visual paradigm between Ubuntu & Windows isn’t that different.

I tried to install it and it failed after 58% with no error message other than it had failed.

MS and their tech forums had me unplug devices, change hashtags, disable all running programs - still no luck. Then they said I would have to do a clean install (wipe out all existing programs and files even though they said you can install it and keep your current programs and files).

Went and bought a WIN8 PC and then found out it will not support a POP3 email server. I don’t want to change my email server to another email provider because it will result in confusion and loss of orders from my clients.

Although this is a MAJOR problem for Win8, once I got used to the interface and how to use the start screen, and customize it, it works well. It also has a tab to go to the desktop - which looks like the windows most users are used to.

Further - diagnosing this issue as a “hardware” problem is WAY to early! Note - it isn’t a hardware problem when the software drivers aren’t compatible!

I also like the idea of using an Ubuntu CDROM to boot and see if it behaves. That is a pretty good test for hardware/software issues.

If it IS a software driver - it could ALSO be the Hard disk! What he was seeing could easily be the hard disk eating files! The fact that he is seeing funny echoes could mean the software isn’t sane, thus the disk is supplying bad program code!

I have my 7yo daughter on the latest Fedora.. She loves it.. I have my 10yo son on a debian based distro, he loves it.. I have MeeGo for personal fun use.. love it.. My wife prefers mac.. Ease of use? Linux is light years ahead in ease from windows.. There is an acronym for what you said.. FUD..

While it’s true that my keyboard may have a few crumbs on it, and while it may be true that a good cleaning is overdue, you have mistaken me for the original poster, who you have also insulted with your condescension.

I’m not a regular Linux user, but, every time there is a new release of Linux, or any of its distros, I’m one of those that “happily” goes to check it out, and many times actually install it, just to come away, again, disappointed. I’ve tried, since 1995, to see if whatever new release comes out, is the one to finally convince me that, it’s the one that can actually replace Windows. Every year, I keep hearing that, “this is they year of Linux”, only to be disappointed every time.

Sorry, but, you and others like you, will continue to preach the benefits of Linux, but, twenty years from now, you’ll still be doing the same, and Linux on desktops and laptops, will still be at around 1% of the market.

Linux needs to get away from trying to be “the replacement for Windows” and come up with new ideas about it should be the OS for computers. Trying to be like Windows, or the replacement for Windows, is not how Linux will evolve into an OS that will be adopted by a bigger set of consumers.

Linux is a moving target, with perhaps hundreds of distros and versions of those distros coming out in the last few years. Linux needs to settle down, without the geeks driving the development efforts, and without the geeks touting the benefits of the distros. There needs to be one major center for driving the development of Linux and the distros, with the functions of marketing and sales being the major concentration. Yes, I said, “sales”, because, most people still have he perception that, “free” is not as good, and not supported, and could be gone tomorrow. Linux needs to have credibility beyond the geek and development community. It needs to have direction, and that can only come from a major business entity, dedicated to the OS and all associated software. Am I talking about a Microsoft-like entity? Yes, because, that’s the only way that Linux might have a chance beyond the “1-percenters”.

Even with my disappointments, I might have decided to use and develop for Linux, if it had been a product with the major backing of a respected software house, which would also be responsible to marketing and sales. Sure, there are some of those out there, but, none as big and respected and known as Apple or Microsoft or Google or IBM or Dell or HP. Now, with Windwos 8 having come out, Linux will have to play more catchup, and though it has a presence of sorts with Android, it’s not because people wanted it; it’s because it’s packages as a device where people don’t distinguish between the device and the OS within.

Windows 8 was the reason I bought a Mac. I knew I would have to “do something” in the near future and didn’t want to beta test ANOTHER M$ OS. I use Ubuntu as well but the Mac is easier in the corporate world than Linux desktops.

Sure, to people like you, it has to be “FUD”, rather than experience of using or trying the damn thing.

For over 15 years, I have tried the many Linux distros that have been release, and each time, I come away disappointed. No doubt that, anyone can learn to use any OS, but, ease of use is not what Linux has going for it.

Linux is quite capable, but, it’s not as user friendly as any Windows OS, and, even the latest distros still have people needing to, at times, go to the command line, or having to compile certain code to arrive at a usable program. Granted that, for most of what the regular folks need, they many never have to visit the command line or reach for a compiler, but, it should never have to happen.

Your kids and family may be happy with your Ubuntu, but, when anything goes wrong with the OS or any related hardware or software, you are there to handle the problems for them. Not everybody is going to want to depend on a father or uncle to handle the issues for them with a computer.

However, some people need to be spanked for being so clueless about what certain problems might be, or what causes them. To many, the first response is to attack Windows, without even thinking that it might be other issues. Heck, even the famous BSOD, was mostly due to hardware issues and drivers from their respective vendors. But, no!, it had to be Windows related, because, that’s the thing that was sitting right in front of them, and the hardware and drivers weren’t immediately visible or accessible.

I recently had an issue with the sound on my computer not working, and my first thought was that, perhaps Windows 8 doesn’t support it. I was right, and it wasn’t an issue with Windows; it was a driver issue, where Windows 8 didn’t support it, and all I had to do was look for a new driver from the manufacturer. The manufacturer hadn’t updated the driver for Windows 8, and if they had, it would’ve have been part of the drivers archive in Windows, and I would never have encountered the problem. It wasn’t a Windows problem, but my first thought was that it was. Luckily, I knew enough to look up the sound care and found the driver on-line. Otherwise, I would have been in the same situation as the person with the keyboard issue, who first looked at blaming Windows 8 for the problem.

Linux is never a solution to any computing problem, unless you're a techie who still loves to be hands on with the command line and feels comfortable with compiling and re-compiling and reconfiguring things.

Uh... I use Fedora Linux and I never have to go to the command line (unless I want to). It also handles automatic software updates better, on the whole, than Windows or OS X.

38
posted on 11/01/2012 12:28:36 PM PDT
by kevkrom
(If a wise man has an argument with a foolish man, the fool only rages or laughs...)

This does not sound like a hardware issue so much as a hardware DRIVER issue. I’d bet that Windows 8 is using some default keyboard driver that just doesn’t correspond closely enough to the keyboard driver that you should be using. This is very likely if you are using a wireless keyboard that came with an installation CD or self-installing USB key.

The drivers that came with the keyboard were not compatible with Windows 8, therefore Windows tried to use a default driver so that you could still use the keyboard for input, but it was not a good match. So, plug in a regular USB or old-school PS/2 keyboard and use that to log in to Windows, then go to the website for your wireless keyboard manufacturer and download the updated Windows 8 drivers.

I am sick of Linux talk, open source and free-ware crap. Almost every kid (under 35) that has worked for us over the years whined and cried about us having to buy licenses for MS products or compatible tools, they can do it better with a download from “yada yada” or it will run faster on Linux. It was always an integration experiment, full of dozens of downloaded plug-ins to make the last downloaded plug-in work that they read about on some blog, that failed and junior moved on to his next big gig touting his open source/garage programming skills.

When a Linux based (or any other non-MS OS) can run all the software that Windows can and still be faster, I’ll try it. If all you do is design webpages and social media crap then by all means try open source stuff, but with few exceptions enterprise apps run on MS servers and were designed on desktops/laptops running Windows, hate them or not.

Just like the people who think desktop and laptops will go away, try doing serious debugging from a phone or tablet screen.

Funny, on a push from the younger generation my company recently went to Macbooks running VMWare to host all the MS products we use to develop. So I ask the rhetorical question why don’t we just use Apple stuff or someone else’s? Then I say “duh” they are none, silly me.

You have already built a perception that, Linux is better, no matter what the reality in the real world.

Fact is that, when it comes to updates in Windows, I’ve never had to worry about them in my Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines, and didn’t really have any issues with XP machines.

For about 90% of computer users around the world, Windows is still the preferred OS, and it’s not because it’s what comes inside their purchases. People also have to upgrade from one version of Windows to another, and people still opt to upgrade to the next version of Windows, whatever it is.

Put a Linux machine next to a Windows machine in a computer store, and the Windows machine will always end up ahead, and be bought by the vast majority of consumers.

I have a dual-boot system in front of me, with Linux in a partition, and, try as I might, I can’t bring myself to boot into the Linux OS as often as I probably should. The reason being that, there really is no reason to do so.

Yes, it was silly, because he specifically stated the problem only started when he upgraded his OS. When a user can pinpoint exactly when the problem started like that, you can safely eliminate going down false roads such as the ones you suggested. I highly doubt that he spilled a can of pop on his keyboard WHILE he was upgrading to Windows 8.

Now, you say the OS was never a problem for you, but that just tells me that you probably haven’t had very much experience upgrading OSs, if you have never encountered an incompatible driver issue cropping up immediately after upgrade. If you had, you would probably recognize the symptoms he is describing fit that scenario to a T.

To the original poster, adorno has a point. Try holding your keyboard upside down and tap gently to shake out any debris, or use some dust-off to blow it out.

If you still have the problem, try attaching a different keyboard to a USB port.

Another possibility is that you may have inadvertently put the keyboard in some kind of alternate state. Boot with the install DVD and Look for a “repair” or “default configuration” option to see if you can regain functionality.

You have already built a perception that, Linux is better, no matter what the reality in the real world.

Uh, again, no.

I use Fedora on one machine, specifically one with very old hardware, because Linux runs smoothly on it for the purposes I need it to (web, email, lightweight word processing) whereas WinXP no longer does. But it's only one of four "PC grade" computers I use; the others are a notebook with WinXP, a desktop with Win7, and an iMac with OS X (Lion). (Those are personal machines. I use WinXP Pro at work.)

Having used all of them, I can categorically state that the easiest machine to administer and keep up to date is the Fedora Linux box. The package manager handles everything behind the scenes for me, all I have to do is provide an admin password to approve updates. The Windows and Mac machines do the same, but only for a subset of applications.

49
posted on 11/01/2012 1:02:27 PM PDT
by kevkrom
(If a wise man has an argument with a foolish man, the fool only rages or laughs...)

It really depends on what you mean by replace. If you want to use it for email, Word Processing, Net Browsing, listening to music, etc. It is fully competent. I run Linux as my main box at home - and the above is what I use it for.

At work I have a Win 7 box that I use VNC to talk to Linux servers to engineering work.

If you want it for gaming - not the right platform. If you want it for video editing - not the right platform.

Finally - if you want Windows functionality - then use Windows! I’ll admit that Win 7 is the first reliable version I’ve seen since Windows 3.1! However, the guy was talking about Windows 8 - which is a NEW Bird altogether, and the advice to stay away from it for a year is well advised!

Lastly - something you ignored is that there is at least one version of Linux that your arguments mostly fall down on, and that would be Android ;-) It has 1 BIG Guy behind it, it has a stable interface, and the development platform is stable as well. Consequently - for total number of “seats” as it were... Linux beats Windows just because of all the phones it’s installed on ;-)

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